1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates generally to exercise equipment and the like, and more particularly to an apparatus for exercising with the well known press and fly motions for arm and chest development.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field: Deola, U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,951 describes a body building exercise device that is provided on a frame with a vertically positioned inverted "U" shaped member pivotally connected to the frame at a median position. The lower ends of the "U" shaped member are connected to a weight stack through a cable and pulley mechanism. Two bar members are connected at one end through a universal connection to the bottom ends of the first member. At the free ends of the bar, gripping means are provided to allow a "dumbbell fly" movement of the bar members to attain constant forward push force level requirements in an equidistant plane in relation to the user's body independent of the resisting force supplied to the device from the weigh stack.
Rockwell, U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,351 describes a compact multi-function weight training exerciser employing handlebar levers that are angularly adjustable by releasable, splined connections with respect to the pivot shaft that they operate so that the rest positions of the respective levers can be disposed in various angularly displaced locations to enable the performance of a variety of exercises.
Harris, U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,684 describes a multi-function exercise apparatus which has a base frame including two vertical support members. An adjustable support means is secured to the frame and provides support for a user in a plurality of different upright and horizontal exercise positions. A lever arm is mounted to a fixed shaft extending from each of the two support members and an elastic band biasing means cooperatively engages each lever arm and corresponding support member thereof so that each lever arm is adapted to have its forward or rearward rotational bias changed without requiring removal and relocation of the lever arm, the corresponding elastic bands, or the corresponding band support pins.
Chen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,214 describes an exerciser including a generally horizontal top frame having a front end, a column supporting the top frame, a movable frame mounted on the top frame and movable between the front end of the top frame and the column, the movable frame having two spaced vertical hollow frame sections and a cross frame section interconnecting lowermost ends of the vertical hollow frame sections, two push arms connected pivotally to the movable frame and capable of being pivoted toward each other, and a stop rod extending frontward from the column below the top frame so as to limit movement of the movable frame toward the column. The exerciser further includes a first locking unit which is operable to prevent movement of the movable frame relative to the top frame and second locking unit which is operable to prevent movement of the push arms relative to the movable frame.
Hsieh, U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,036 describes an exercise apparatus which enables the user to selectively perform a bench press exercise or a butterfly exercise using the same apparatus elements without requiring any modification to the apparatus by the user. A pair of exercise arms are mounted to a pivot bar for pivoting movement each about a respective one of a pair of parallel pivot axes and are interconnected for concurrent pivoting movement in opposite angular directions about the pair of pivot axes by the respective intermeshed circular gear segments. The pivot bar is mounted to an overhead member for pivoting movement about a horizontal pivot axis. When a butterfly exercise is being performed, the apparatus provides equal resistance to both of the user's arms and insures that both arms move at the same speed. When a bench press exercise is being performed, the meshing of the circular gear segments locks the exercise arms together.
Simonson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,614 describes an apparatus and a method for performing a chest press exercise. A user support and a primary hinge are mounted to a frame. A secondary hinge is mounted to the primary hinge. An arm mounted to the secondary hinge has a handle adapted to be grasped by the user. The two hinges permit the user to displace the handle in either or both the longitudinal and lateral directions. A means for resisting the displacement of the handle, preferably in both the lateral and longitudinal directions, is provided. The resistance means may include a post attached to the arm for mounting eight plates. A second handle, arm, and secondary hinge may be provided for the other hand so that the user may exercise both halves of his body. The arms may be connected such that both handles move the same longitudinal and/or lateral distance. To use the exercise machine, a user selects a weight for exercise, lies on the user support, grasps the handle and pushes upward from his shoulders, moving the handle longitudinally and laterally as he so chooses overcoming for resistance.
The prior art teaches both press and fly exercise apparatus. However, the prior art does not teach that a single apparatus may be used for both such exercises in a manner whereby the athlete has the option to switch between these two exercises instantly. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.